Sunday, May 8, 2011

Yesterday, May 7, marked the opening of two of Chester County's farmers' markets, the West Chester Growers Market and the Phoenixville Farmers' Market. Since I am slightly obsessed with attending all the farm markets I can in one day, I was sure to hit up both wonderful spots in this county!

As I previously mentioned here, B and I are fiends for a fine loaf of sourdough bread, and thanks to Big Sky Bread Company at the WC market, we almost gobbled a whole loaf of apricot, raisin and walnut wheat bread in an easy ten minutes. I adored seeing the wide assortment of Amish cheese across from the doughy stand, too, but saved my cheese purchases until I hit Phoenixville borough.

It is always a pleasure to see Sue Miller, cheesemaker of Birchrun Hills Farm. Being that it was opening day of the market, Miller was slinging a brand-new, incredibly-creamy (and a must-try) raw milk cheese, Little Chardy, as well as my favorite, the Truly Blue, a 60-day aged collaboration cheese made as a farewell for Amazing Acres Goat Dairy with half-raw milk and half-goat milk.

Did you attend either market? What were your favorite vendors amongst the bunch? I was also floored to nibble on Miller's spicy grass-fed beef sticks, and additionally, pleased to see first year vendor, Mompops, in the Phoenixville roundup.

As I reached for what's left of my Sulawesi Toraja coffee beans this morning, a fantastically-roasted bag of caffeination from One Village Coffee, I developed an instant ping of sadness.

The moment you realize you are grinding the last petite batch (well, "last" until I go to the store for more) of a coffee blend that you would go into a frenzy for is an earth-shaking moment. The adoring feelings I developed for Sulawesi, a blend conceptualized by their Chief Roaster/coffee guru Woody (seen below), followed similar suit to the crush I didn't keep pent up of another one of their varieties, the Smart Blend.

While the Sulawesi marvelously mashes together cocoa and clementine, the Smart is profound amongst its rushing of blueberry, dried fruits and cocoa. However, both are perfect for different days and my work days seem far better suited by having both on hand.

And, being a coffee fiend, I was honored to visit their HQ in Souderton on a Tuesday morning a few weeks back. While the intention for that visit was a feature for here and here (which I will link to in the coming weeks), I couldn't help but share a few scenes of my deliciously intoxicating morning, which also hosted a favorable meet-and-greet with the lineup of their personable staff who devised the coffee operation 4 years back.

You may source One Village Coffee for yourself in Philadelphia coffee shops (and in my 'hood, in Artisans Gallery & Cafe), as well as in Whole Foods markets and various other wonderful independent businesses. Click here to grab a bag or two online, too!